Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Has $623,000 Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 44.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,747 shares during the quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $623,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.6% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 23,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,663,000 after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $951,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,407,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter worth $319,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.00.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock opened at $322.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $230.08 and a 52-week high of $323.55. The company has a market capitalization of $80.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.45 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $291.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $289.91.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.53 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.81%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.